NASA's Paul Holloway was a leader in human space flight program

Paul Holloway was the son and grandson of Poquoson watermen and loved to fish, clam and crab but he spent his life and career studying the stars and the technology to reach them.

Fresh out of college in 1960, Holloway began a long and distinguished career at NASA — first as an engineerat Langley Research Center in Hampton, andfinally as its center director before retiring in 1996.

"The thing that drove me here," Holloway told the Daily Press that year, "was a complete lack of inherited skills as a waterman and a good capability with math."

Those who knew him best might consider that an understatement on both counts.

Holloway passed away Sunday at the age of 75, leaving behind his son, Eric, a reputation for intelligence and precision and a legacy as a leader in furthering human space flight. His wife Barbara preceded him in death.

"He was very serious, extremely accurate — I don't think Paul ever had a vague notion about anything," said Sidney Pauls. "He was born to be an engineer, and he was a good one."

Pauls, also a Poquoson native, worked with Holloway at Langley before retiring as associate director in 1995.

"He was very thorough in his approach to things," said Delma Freeman, another Poquoson native and retired Langley director. "He was extremely bright. He was very dedicated to his job and to his family, and he was a fine gentleman."

Holloway attended Poquoson High School, where classmates voted him and his then-girlfriend, Barbara Menetch, "Most in Love." The couple married just after graduation, two weeks after Holloway turned 18.

He studied aeronautical engineering at Virginia Tech, and after graduating with honors he and his wife returned to Hampton Roads.

He was hired at NASA Langley and for eight years worked as a research engineer. Afterward, he held a variety of leadership posts before being appointed director in 1991. In between, he had occasional brief stints at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., but always returned.

In his leisure time, said Pauls, Holloway was about fishing and family.

"We just sort of grew up together," said Pauls, 77. "Sort of grew old together."

At NASA, Holloway's most significant contribution may have been leading a team of about 300 NASA engineers from Langley and other centers in the 1970s to hone the development of the fledgling space shuttle.

"That was Paul's research area — hypersonic aerodynamics and entry flight mechanics," said Steve Jurczyk, deputy director at NASA Langley. "So not only did he lead the organization, but he was in on many of the reviews of the space shuttle, and also the space station.

"That was a big activity within the agency," he added, "and Langley had a big, significant role in the development of the space shuttle."

As center director, Jurczyk said, Holloway "reinvigorated" efforts to transfer new inventions and patented technologies to industry. After Holloway retired, the Paul F. Holloway Non-Aerospace Technology Transfer Award was renamed in his honor.

He's the recipient of numerous awards, himself, including the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Service, and two Senior Executive Service Distinguished Presidential Rank Awards.

"Paul was very passionate about the mission of the center and the agency," said Jurczyk. "And very dedicated to what the center and agency did for the country."